


Day 10: Fruitcake ft. MysteryPearl

by Pippiuscattius



Series: Pippi's Holiday Shipping Challenge: Take Two [10]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Awkward Tension, But we all already knew this, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Crystal Gems, Cuz it's canon, F/F, First Date, Forehead Kisses, Holding Hands, Holiday Shipping Challenge, Mystery Girl Is Not a Replacement for Rose Quartz, Mystery Girl Is Smooth, Past Pearl/Rose Quartz (Steven Universe), Pearl is the ultimate disaster lesbian, Useless Lesbians, fruit cake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:54:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21814006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pippiuscattius/pseuds/Pippiuscattius
Summary: Pearl's finally secured a date with that gorgeous Mystery Girl. All she's got to keep her confidence up are the words and support of her friends, her relentless pining, and a jiggly, colorful cake Steven helped her make for the upcoming holiday season.(This is part of a collection of silly, rushed drabbles for me to get into the holiday spirit. Make of them what you will, and happy holidays!)
Relationships: Mystery Girl/Pearl (Steven Universe)
Series: Pippi's Holiday Shipping Challenge: Take Two [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1569934
Kudos: 34





	Day 10: Fruitcake ft. MysteryPearl

Pearl’s fingers fidgeted against each other as she stood at the beach house’s front door. She’d be here any minute now; in their brief text conversation, they’d agreed on meeting at five o’clock sharp. The minutes ticked on past five, heightening Pearl’s restlessness. She really, really wanted this to go well, it had taken her so long to work up the nerve to text the number that girl had offered her.

Taking a calming breath, Pearl remembered the pieces of advice her fellow crystal gems had offered up. Steven had told her to just be herself and have fun, while Amethyst took the more gregarious approach of suggesting wild stunts to impress the mystery girl with. Garnet had given Pearl perhaps the most reassuring advice of all: that things would happen as they were meant to, and love was a natural process. Garnet would know that better than anyone, both due to her existence as a fusion of love and her future vision, and thus Pearl found immense solace in her words.

Exactly seventeen minutes after five, Pearl heard footsteps tromping up the wooden stairs outside. Internally panicking, she primped her short hair and skirt. Her eyes strayed to the kitchen counter, where a covered platter sat concealing her efforts in the kitchen the day prior (largely guided by Steven). Hopefully, Garnet’s words would ring true.

A knock rapped at the screen door, startling Pearl out of her thoughts. Gathering herself, Pearl assumed a dignified pose and swung the door open, bowing politely at the woman standing on the other side. She looked just as Pearl remembered, her fluffy pink hair curving delicately past her shoulders and a nonchalant hand pressed to her hip. A thick, purple sweater and plaid pink scarf sheltered her from the light snowfall outside. Merely the sight of her made Pearl freeze up again; she was so pretty…

“Sorry I’m late,” she shrugged. “Hard to ride a motorcycle when the roads are drowning in snow.”

Clearing her throat, Pearl stepped aside and waved a hand towards the house’s interior. “W-well, um, welcome! Make yourself at home…”

With a half-smirk, the mystery girl sidled inside. Her eyes dragged across its contents, not landing on anything in particular. Were Pearl a human, she suspected she would be sweating massively right now.

“So…this is where I live,” Pearl began nervously watching her guest. “I-I tried to clean up before your arrival, but Amethyst tends to make a mess, and I told Steven to clean up his toys, but—”

Mystery girl waved a hand. “S’alright. Those are the two I saw you with at the concert, right?”

“Y-yes,” Pearl stammered.

Humming thoughtfully, mystery girl fell back onto the couch, draping her arms over the back. “The little one’s Steven, I’m guessing? He your kid?”

Alarmed, Pearl waved her hands. “Oh, no, no! He’s…I’m more of his guardian and mentor.”

Nodding as though she had expected that, mystery girl kicked up her feet and reclined into the sofa’s plush cushions. “I thought you looked a little young to have a kid. Not that I’d judge you for that.”

Pearl faltered. “Y-young? I’ll have you know, I’m actually over eleven thousand years old, last I checked.”

The girl directed a blank stare at Pearl. Then, with a snicker, began laughing into the back of her palm. “Man…you really are somethin’ Pearl.”

Unsure how to reply, Pearl nervously tittered with laughter of her own, tugging at the ribbon tied round her waist.

“You can come on over here, if you want,” mystery girl offered, a gentle note to her voice. “You don’t gotta be shy.”

The invitation didn’t stop a light blue blush from taking over Pearl’s physical form. She could have attempted to will it away, but decided it better to just leave her feelings on display. Steven had told her to be herself, after all.

“Ah, certainly,” Pearl accepted. “But first!”

Twirling around, Pearl gracefully snatched the platter off the kitchen counter, setting it down on the coffee table. With a flourish, she grabbed the metal dome covering it and lifted it to reveal a circular loaf of cake. Gelatinous globs of artificial color were dotted throughout, a Neapolitan display of its contents.

When her date didn’t react, Pearl announced, “It’s a fruit cake! I’m not very good with baking, or food in general really—I find it to be quite icky most of the time—, but Steven mentioned that fruit cakes were a Christmas tradition, and since that holiday is nearly here, I thought…”

Mystery girl’s luscious lips curved into a smile, and Pearl felt weak in the knees. “People normally don’t _eat_ fruit cake, ya know. But I’ll give it a try.”

A wobbly smile was the best Pearl could manage. Carefully, she lowered herself onto the sofa beside her date, making sure to keep a respectable distance no matter _how_ much she itched to close the gap.

Taking the fork offered on the platter, mystery girl dug into the cake and carved out a bite, chewing it contemplatively. Pearl waited with baited breath despite not technically needing to breathe, second guessing her every move and intention leading up to that moment.

“It’s actually not that bad for a fruit cake,” mystery girl judged, stabbing another bite onto her fork and offering it to Pearl. “Wanna bite?”

“No thank you!” Pearl refused a little too quickly, face split by a nervous, toothy grin. “I don’t really, um…food isn’t something I usually partake in.”

“Light eater?” Mystery girl shrugged and downed the bite herself. “That’s fine.”

“I’m not so much a light eater as a being _made_ of light,” Pearl mumbled, feeling foolish.

Huffed laughter drew Pearl’s eyes back up towards her companion. “You sure are, aren’t ya Pearl? You lit right up from almost the first time I saw you.”

Before Pearl could attempt to explain she had meant it literally, mystery girl set down her fork and instead placed her hand over Pearl’s on the sofa. Pearl tensed, her blush returning with a vengeance, but she managed to shift her hand around to lace their fingers together like she’d seen on some of Steven’s television shows.

“You’re pretty jumpy, huh?” mystery girl observed, running a soothing thumb over the back of Pearl’s hand. “It’s alright, I get it. First date jitters. I get ‘em too, I’m just good at hiding them.”

“Really?” Pearl asked, her brow lifting. “But…you look so cool and collected, all the time.”

“People aren’t always what they look like,” mystery girl replied, squeezing Pearl’s fingers. “Just ‘cause you see them one way, doesn’t mean they aren’t another.”

Somehow, Pearl felt Rose’s eyes boring down on her from the painting above the doorframe. It was true; she’d first been attracted to this girl for her striking resemblance to her late partner, but…the more time she spent in her presence, the more she realized that the physical resemblance didn’t run deep into her character. Mystery girl was cool where Rose would be excited, detached where she would be curious. And that…was not a bad thing, Pearl decided. Even as those differences grew, she still found her feelings for the girl as strong as before, if not stronger.

And to think, Pearl had ribbed on Rose so hard for falling for a human. Perhaps it was easier than she’d assumed.

The evening passed in increasing ease. Mystery girl continued taking contemplative bites of Pearl’s cake, keeping their hands interlocked. She asked all sorts of questions, to which Pearl provided answers to the best of her knowledge. She asked about Pearl’s history, her friends, and her alien demeanor. Even if she didn’t seem to believe that Pearl really was an alien being of light, she accepted such comments with amusement and understanding.

This girl was showing a genuine interest in Pearl. The gem’s insides melted a little at the recognition of just how much that meant.

The day sank into night, and the fruit cake disappeared until only crumbs were left. Worrying her lip piercing, mystery girl checked the time on her phone and announced she needed to get going. Pearl tried to ignore the stab of disappointment in her chest, nodding her assent and walking her to the door.

“I had fun,” mystery girl said, a charming smile tugging at her lips. “Call me again sometime soon. My place next time, alright?”

Before Pearl could agree, the girl leaned down just enough to plant a cordial but heartfelt kiss on her forehead, right over the top of her ovular gem. The warmth Pearl felt from that simple contact reached all the way to her toes. She stood speechless for several minutes after her date had descended the steps and crossed the beach.

Staring out at the skyline and feeling an attachment she hadn’t in so long, Pearl murmured in awe, “I didn’t even remember to ask her name.”

_Thus ends the tenth day of Christmas._


End file.
